AWmusic

Well, I was originally planning on writing this review on the Pale Young Gentlemen’s sophomore effort, Black Forest (tra la la), but when I went to the record store, it was out of stock. So instead, I’m reviewing their self-titled debut album. It’s been out for over a year, but the Wisconsin band still remains relatively overlooked, so it might be better that I start with their first album. Maybe someday the record store will call me back.

Pale Young Gentlemen is a playful, rowdy, and (at times) introspective debut headed by brothers Michael & Matt Reisenauer. The album starts off with Reisenauer (Michael, that is) crooning about the unattainable ‘Fraulein’ over a jocular piano melody. The playful dance-hall rhythms continue throughout the entire first half of the record. The halfway point is marked by the infectious ‘Clap Your Hands’. The bouncy combination of piano, stricks, and drums make you want to listen to Reisenauer when he tells you to “grab a girl, dance dance.”

The second half of the album marks a definite shift from the playful tone of the first five tracks. The majority of the second half is much slower than the first half. While this in itself would not make it worse, the tracks also seem to be much more overblown and melodramatic. ‘An Appeal to St. Peter’ features a chorus of “why, why, why, why” which gets annoying pretty quickly. That seems to characterize most of the final five songs: slow, boring, and repetitive. That being said, there is one track in the final half that is without a doubt my favorite on the entire album. ‘A Shadow On The Wall’ features a thumping bass drum and an insanely catchy string riff.

This debut album is a good start, but halfway through it takes a turn for the worst. I’m excited to actually get their second album to see which route they took. If you’ve already heard it, feel free to leave comments on which way you think they went with Black Forest (tra la la).

You can check out PYG’s website here or just head over to their myspace.

Pale Young Gentlemen – A Shadow On The Wall
Pale Young Gentlemen – Clap Your Hands

And an added bonus, they covered MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’ awhile back:
Pale Young Gentlemen – Paper Planes

Tags: album

Both comments and pings are currently closed.